Charles is a new friend of mine and wishes to contribute his ideas on SMA.
As writers we have been pondering how to express our love for this little Shangri-la we have come to know as San Miguel de Allende, and now call home. (Voted by Travel & Leisure readers as the #1 City on the World, yet again). This is an op-ed of sorts, an article we're calling "Life.....none of us are getting out alive, so Love, Eat, Drink And Be Merry". As ex-pats we flock here by the hundreds, if not thousands, (we account for approximately 10% of the population of 185,000), so what do we share that binds us?
We've all left somewhere for let's just say a myriad of reasons, landing as retirees or digital nomads. Because of this we share a common bond, a fear of the unknown, but it is worth it because we've reached that stage in our lives, young or old, where it's "damn the torpedoes, I've got to jump or I'll never do it". It is better to have tried than to not try at all theory. Once you've departed your old life, a new one begins, like a new chapter in your tired, maybe dull life to date. Like shedding an old skin. Someone said, "Your traveling experiences can leave you speechless, and then somehow you turn into a storyteller".
That is where the excitement lies, in discovering others like you, yet perhaps from a different part of the world, the something in common theory.
For some of us, it is not the first time we have joined George Carlin's "No More Stuff Club", so for us it is easy , we are invigorated to do it again and re-join the global "let's have fun club" and live life to it's fullest. We are all giddy with the excitement of finding others like ourselves, safety in numbers. It's almost like butterflies in your stomach on the first date. You want to get to know each other to find those things, the sad, the happy, the I can't believe you are so much like me, we have so much in common theory. That wonderfully helpless feeling, that scary intoxicating feeling of falling in love and feeling safe. Close friendships that bond you together. The friends you can talk to about anything., those that you would do anything for at 3 am when the phone rings and they need help, the "No matter what kind of friends". These friendships are more abundant here in SMA, they just seem deeper and more meaningful somehow. They blossom, partly because we are all a little bit more fertile, open here, our true selves perhaps, because there are no judgements or less so at least.
The escape is real, and the new camaraderie is real. Is it real or just too much tequila? Yet at the same time we are depending on how brave or how much we genuinely integrate into the daily culture.
Part 1
To be continued Saturday, August 10th. Thank you Charles!